A study by scientists from California and France found that protein in meat is associated with a sharp increase in the risk of heart disease, while protein in nuts and seeds is good for the heart. The study, entitled "Protein intake patterns of plants and animals are closely related to cardiovascular mortality: Adventist Health Study -2 cohort", was jointly completed by researchers from the School of Public Health of Loma Linda Medical University in California and the French Institute of Agriculture and Agronomy.
Image source: Loma Linda University Health
This study was recently published in the International Journal of Epidemiology. The researchers found that the risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) increased by 60% in people who ate a lot of meat protein, while the risk of CVD decreased by 40% in people who ate a lot of nuts and seeds protein. The study included data of 865,438+0,000 participants, including Dr. Gary Fraser and Fran? Dr ois Mariotti is a correspondent for this study.
"Although fat in the diet can affect the risk of cardiovascular disease, protein may also have an important impact and has long been ignored." Fraser said. He added that he and his colleagues have long suspected that nuts and seeds in the diet have a protective effect on cardiovascular diseases, while red meat increases the risk of related diseases.
Fraser added that nutritionists have long attributed these effects to bad fats in red meat and good fats in nuts and seeds. But these new discoveries reveal more secrets. "These new evidences show that the whole picture of the facts may also include the biological effects of protein in these foods."
Fraser said that there is another significant difference between their research and previous research. That is to say, the previous research aimed to explore the difference between animal protein and plant protein, but their research did not only classify these two types, they chose to study meat protein and protein in nuts and seeds respectively. "This study shows that it may not be enough to separate plant protein from animal protein, because even the same protein has a huge difference in effect."
Fraser said that this study also raised other questions that need further study, such as which amino acids in meat protein caused the increased risk of CVD. Another question is whether protein from special sources will affect cardiovascular risk factors, such as blood lipid, blood pressure, overweight and other CVD-related factors.